Tuesday Adventures

Well, I know it is not Tuesday. Or Wednesday. So I am running a little behind schedule- so what? Tuesday was an adventurous day for me... Well, okay not too adventurous. But more so than usual. I don't know why I am blabbering on in such a weird fashion.

Tuesday for Mutual, we had a Progressive dinner/Get to Know Your Leaders night. I got to kick it all off with appetizers. Salad was suggested, but did I do salad? No way! A chance to show off some cooking AND make people eat new things? Opportunity Taken! So I decided to do 3 different types of crostini and one other appetizer. Being myself, I am a HORRIBLE time manager. So did I get it all set out and ready by the time everyone showed up? No. Did I have half of it done when everybody showed up? No. Oh well. I did get everything finished about 10 minutes after everyone showed up, which was pretty good for me.
I made Crostini with St. Andre cheese and pink lady apples, crostini with chevre, arugula tossed in balsamic vinegar, and roasted red peppers, crostini with sauteed bacon and red onions, and insalata caprese, which is tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil drizzled in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. They were pretty delicious! Judging by the amount that got eaten, the St Andre cheese and pink lady apple were the favorite.

So, we move on to the other houses, and I had a wonderful time listening to embarrassing stories, looking at old photos, and learning funny little quirks about my fellow leaders. I get home, and sit on the couch and look down and notice a HUGE hole in my jeans! AND it was right on my inner thigh! Yikes! I immediately remember that I had been sitting cross legged on the floor at the last house and become somewhat embarrassed. I mean, this hole is probably a good five inches. Oh well, I guess that just happens sometimes. At least it wasn't in the crotch, hmmm?

Goat Cheese and Bell Pepper Pasta

Mmm- it looks pretty good, huh? I didn't have a Cherry Tomato to make it look more beautiful, so I just sucked all the sauce off some of the Bell Peppers and arranged them for a garnish. (Hey- it was my plate, I can do what I want!)
Basic Recipe: Chicken with olive oil and salt and pepper, sauteed with lemon juice. Added mushrooms, a tiny bit of sun-dried tomatoes, and a red bell pepper and a yellow bell pepper. Added lots of garlic. And then some lime juice (because I was out of lemon, and I thought it needed more.) Added some Tarragon. Added a bit of cream, reduced it, and then added some Chevre goat cheese to melt in. Added more cream for sauce-like consistency and served with Penne.
Ratings: Everyone gave it a Six. They thought the peppers were really good (which was the point, as I built the whole pasta to bring out the pepper flavor, so I did that well.) but that the goat cheese made a weird texture. The goat cheese doesn't melt really smoothly, and it kindof coats your mouth, which is a bit of a required taste.
My Rating: Probably a Six-and-a-Half. It needs a bit of tweaking. It didn't have enough goat cheese, and I am not sure I liked the cream-based sauce. I will try it again with a lemon butter. Another possible idea is to serve it as Chicken. Chicken, covered with the sauce and veggies, and then add a smear of goat cheese on top. Probably would have been better. But I did like it quite a bit. More than anyone else did. I was impressed that the main flavor was the bell peppers. Everything just really brought out that flavor.

Creative Kitchenry and Sucky Computery

Well, today I decided to invent a new recipe for dinner. I took some beautiful pictures of it (complete with pretty tomato garnish!!) to post. I took them off the camera and put them on the computer, into a new folder I had just titled "Food." They showed up, so I deleted them off the camera. Then, when I went to look at them, they were gone! Just gone! And THEN, the title of the folder reverted back to "New Folder." So, I think my computer must have gone back in time. Or something. Unfortunately, the camera was still firmly affixed in the present. So, you will just have to imagine how delicious my dinner looked.

Now, on to the dinner. Recipe name: I am not totally sure yet. I'm going with maybe "White on White with a Tomato Twist" or something else dumb.
Basic Description: Sauteed (sliced on the bias) chicken and garlic. Salt and peppered with a splash of lemon juice and a generous plop of White Balsamic Vinegar. When browned, I added baby Bella mushrooms and Sundried tomatoes (for color). Near the end, I added quite a bit of cream to make a modified alfredo-ish sauce. All served over Angel Hair pasta. (It really was beautiful. Maybe if my pictures reappear, I will post them.)
The consensus: I had three friends over for dinner. The average rating (out of 10) was about an 8.56. (Including Jason's.) Some memorable quotes: Adam- It's better than Taco Bell. (Which didn't say much for me, but he loves it.) Jason- It has a nice fruity undertone, with solid legs and a smooth finish. (The fruitiness is from the White Balsamic.)
My rating: Honestly, not the best dish I invented. I thought it needed a bit more cream than I added to make more of a sauce. Lauren and Adam concurred. I gave it a 7. The fruity tones were excellent with the mushrooms, and the sundried tomatoes were perfect. So what was my beef? A little too sweet. The Balsamic gets really sweet when reduced, and the White Balsamic is missing the "zing" of the regular Balsamic. And then with the cream, I found it really tasty for a few bites, and then a little hard to swallow.
The fix: Next time, I will add a dash of Tobasco sauce to help negate the sweetness. I would definitely make it again.
Stay tuned for more "Adventures in the Kitchen with Amanda!"